New York

New York has undertaken ambitious reforms toward the clean energy future. The state has committed to modernize its grid and dramatically increase renewables in its energy mix. EnergyVision 2030 data show that New York can achieve its goals by accelerating adoption of clean energy technologies.

Emissions Reductions

18%Below 1990 Levels

New York Recorded Emissions, 1990-2015

Projected Reductions, 2015-2030

Clean Energy Replaces Fossil Fuels

Select a key area to see how individual technologies can grow to replace traditional, fossil-fueled energy. Drag the bar on the bottom of the page to see total emissions decline as each technology expands.

Percentage of Renewables in Energy Mix

Key Sector

Electric Generation

To realize the benefits of renewables and meet the 2030 emissions target, New York will need to achieve or surpass 50% renewable energy and hydroelectricity, as currently promised in its Clean Energy Standard, reaching 57% by 2030.

The sources of electricity generation in New York have shifted significantly from 2001 to the present. Coal use declined from 16% to 2% and natural gas increased from 27% to 41%. This shift initially reduced greenhouse gas emissions by pushing out less-efficient coal plants, but the state’s increasing overreliance on natural gas will provide the state with few additional emissions benefits and increases risks of price volatility and supply disruption. Expanding renewable generation is a less risky alternative that provides stable costs, mitigates fuel price risk, and reduces emissions.

Megawatts of Land-Based Wind

Land-Based Wind

New York can increase land-based wind by 1,900 megawatts to reach the 2030 target.

New York’s Clean Energy Standard provides overarching targets for developers and policymakers, and the state is also advancing renewable generation by issuing large-scale purchase bids, or long-term contracts, in the market. These contracts finance and construct large renewable projects like land-based wind farms that have significant capital costs and require upgrades to transmission infrastructure. Large-scale purchases of renewable energy reduce costs and can help to overcome financial barriers that could otherwise stifle development.

Megawatts of Offshore Wind

Offshore Wind

New York can also increase offshore wind by 2,400 megawatts to reach its emissions target.

Good wind speeds, shallow water, and proximity to population centers make offshore wind a promising grid-scale renewable resource in New York. Like Massachusetts and Rhode Island, New York is also pursuing offshore wind development to achieve renewable energy targets. With continuing commitments to offshore wind, New York could attract a large share of industry jobs and spur economic development.

Megawatts of Distributed Solar

Distributed Solar

Unlike large-scale electricity generation that feeds into the transmission system, distributed generation (DG) provides energy directly to consumers and the local distribution grid. In addition to generating clean energy, clean DG resources like rooftop solar can make the electric grid more resilient and reduce the need for expensive grid infrastructure. On-site distributed generation can be a valuable resource that benefits the energy system, while empowering consumers to control their energy bills and receive payment for the local energy they produce.

Megawatts of Grid-Scale Solar

Grid-Scale Solar

Grid-scale solar can provide an additional 5,850 megawatts of solar in the state of New York.

Like large-scale wind projects, grid-scale solar is most cost-effective when acquired through bulk purchasing. Upgrading the existing system or building new transmission lines to renewable sites can carry significant up-front costs that are difficult to finance with uncertain revenue from renewable energy certificates and energy markets alone. Several states have pursued bulk purchasing of renewable energy and hydroelectricity through long-term contracting to overcome some of these barriers.

Trillion BTU of Fossil Fuels Consumed

Transportation

By adopting zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and improving mobility options, New York can reduce fossil fuel consumption for transportation by 23%, or more than 230 trillion BTU, by 2030.

New York must embrace clean transportation technologies to build a cleaner and more efficient regional transportation system. By adopting these technologies, states can also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly, as fossil fuels burned for transportation represent the largest share of the region’s GHG emissions. New policy measures can build on already growing consumer interest in zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), primarily electric vehicles (EVs), to replace more conventional cars and trucks. At the same time, the states can invest in alternative mobility options to create vibrant communities and reduce the need to drive in both urban and rural areas.

Percentage of Cars Electrified

Electric Vehicles

New York can continue progress to electrify at least 20% of light cars and trucks by 2030.

Deployment will require smarter electric rates that make EVs more attractive to drivers and consumer incentives to facilitate EV purchases, which would decline over time. Pricing transportation emissions will accelerate EV adoption while raising funds for rebates, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, transit, and other transportation sector investments.

Percentage of Trucks Electrified

Medium-Duty Electric Trucks

Converting an additional 2.5% of the medium duty fleet to electric vehicles will help New York meet its clean energy goals.

Beyond passenger cars and light trucks, medium-duty vehicles, such as buses and delivery trucks, can also be electrified. For example, at the end of 2015, FedEx had already placed nearly 1,200 electric vehicles in service in its global fleet.

By promoting the benefits of these vehicles, including reduced fuel and maintenance costs, the state can achieve greater adoption of commercially available electric alternatives in the medium-duty fleet.

Percent Decrease in VMT Compared to the Baseline Scenario

Vehicle Miles Traveled

New York can counteract projected VMT growth (5% growth under current policies) to maintain flat VMT levels over the 15-year period from 2015 to 2030.

Public transit, walking, biking, carpooling, and ride-hailing services can reduce the number of miles a car is driven. From rural to urban areas, improving access to these services and activities can create vibrant communities and reduce emissions.

Trillion BTU Fossil Fuels Consumed

Key Sector

Buildings

To advance the clean energy future, buildings in New York must be powered and heated by cleaner energy sources while at the same time becoming more efficient. Continued investment in energy efficiency will save money and avoid unnecessary energy waste. When efficiency is combined with clean heating technologies, a deep emissions reduction pathway emerges. The buildings of tomorrow will reflect a much more integrated and interactive energy system that produces and consumes electricity in ways that result in a cleaner and more efficient grid.

Percentage of Heating Systems Converted

Heat Pumps

To meet the 2030 target, New York can convert 11% of oil, gas, and propane heating systems in homes and businesses to heat pumps.

Heat pumps are a form of efficient electric heating for residential and commercial buildings. They extract heat from either outside air or the ground and move it into a building. An air conditioner is a type of heat pump that moves heat from inside a building to the outside to cool it; heat pumps simply reverse this process during the heating season and can now efficiently function even in cold New York winters.

Percentage of Water Heaters Converted

Heat Pumps for Water Heating

New York needs to replace 10% of fossil-fueled water heaters with heat pumps by 2030.

The state of New York should adopt policies that assign an appropriate value to the emissions savings gained from replacing fossil fuel hot water systems with cleaner alternatives.

Percent Reduction in Electricity Consumption

Electric Efficiency

New York must decrease electric consumption 33% by 2030 to reduce emissions from electricity generation and offset additional demand from EVs and heat pumps.

New York has begun efforts to promote energy efficiency, but the state must do much more to embrace this essential resource. Energy efficiency works hand in hand with coordinated improvements in our energy system: by reducing overall demand for energy, energy efficiency allows renewable energy resources to ramp up and offsets increased electricity demand from new technologies.

New York must show a sustained commitment to energy efficiency in order to reduce energy consumption and minimize costs.

Percent Increase in Natural Gas Savings

Natural Gas Efficiency

By 2030, natural gas savings can increase to at least 21% through weatherization in New York.

New York also has an opportunity to reduce energy costs and emissions by investing in energy efficiency measures that reduce the use of heating fuels like natural gas, propane, and fuel oil. Weatherizing buildings, replacing outdated equipment, and improving industrial processes can all reduce the amount of fossil fuels consumed in buildings.

New York needs to capture all cost-effective efficiency and find sustainable funding mechanisms for fuel oil and propane efficiency through economy-wide carbon pricing or a different mechanism.

Key Sector

Grid Modernization

Updated rules, planning processes, and financial incentives can enable the adoption of technologies critical to meet 2030 and longer term emissions reduction targets.

The New York Public Service Commission has taken several steps to update old rules and encourage strategic use of clean energy resources. This includes steps towards advanced metering functionality and significant reforms to electric rate design and the methods for compensating distributed energy resources (DER) for the value these resources provide to the grid. New York has also approved initial reforms to the utility business model that reward the utility for finding lower cost, DER solutions instead of building more infrastructure.

Combined with ambitious goals for clean energy and reductions in climate pollution, New York is far along the road to setting the policies needed to attain a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030, but attention to expanding clean energy market penetration is needed as New York implements these large scale reforms.

Energy Grid

The modern energy grid must be highly efficient and resilient, produce less pollution, and rely increasingly on distributed energy resources and sophisticated load management practices.

The traditional energy grid system has been structured around one-way power flow from power plants traveling over transmission and distribution lines to homes and businesses. In the new system, power will flow in multiple directions with greater consumer engagement and third party participation. As the energy grid evolves and distributed energy resources become more prevalent, utilities will increasingly take on the role of coordinators of the energy market, rather than functioning purely as energy providers and infrastructure developers.

Utility Incentives

Utility regulators must adopt new rules that allow the utilities to recover costs and earn comparable returns on local energy solutions.

Traditionally, utilities earn money by making a regulated rate of return on approved capital investments. This system gives utilities incentives to build or upgrade traditional infrastructure projects. These outdated utility financial incentives inhibit the transition to a clean energy future, increase consumer costs, and hinder investment in new technologies. While New York’s energy needs can increasingly be met by local energy resources and smart energy management, utilities often earn far less—or nothing at all—by choosing lower-cost, clean energy solutions.

Without changes to the way they are regulated and rewarded, utilities will continue to advocate for infrastructure over local energy resources. Instead of earning revenue primarily for building new infrastructure, utilities should be rewarded for achieving energy efficiency and clean energy goals, minimizing the cost of the grid, and providing choices, opportunities, and control to consumers.

Megawatts of DR and ALM

Demand Response and Active Load Management

New York can increase Demand Response and Active Load Management to cover 2,800 megawatts of electricity load by 2030.

Demand response (DR) measures reduce or shift energy consumption during periods of high demand on the grid. Traditionally, DR involves coordination between utilities and large customers. Like DR, active load management (ALM) shifts demand patterns, but it is highly-automated.

Smart or programmable technologies (e.g., thermostats, equipment, and appliances) make active load management possible. These technologies minimize a consumer’s load during peak periods or shift a consumer’s load when renewables are generating electricity. For example, a water heater can automatically preheat when renewable generation is available, drawing less power from fossil fuel sources.

Megawatts of Battery Storage

Energy Storage

New York can adopt 2,000 MW of new battery storage to meet 2030 goals.

Batteries and other types of energy storage can store power when demand for energy is low and release it when demand is high. For example, storage can retain solar energy produced mid-day and release it after the sun goes down. Electric vehicles have the potential to contribute to both active load management, through smart coordinated charging, and storage, by releasing power from their batteries to the grid when it is economical to do so.

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